Leave it all on the field

It's common to hear ballplayers say they leave everything on the field. An exhilarating concept.

It occurred to me that athletes in Japan strive for the same thing. They call it:

Bobby Valentine on Japanese baseball

I had an opportunity to hear Bobby Valentine speak.

It's strikingly clear how Japan's love of baseball inspires him.

Mr. V talked about a serious issue the Japanese professional baseball leagues face. Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) has 12 teams. Roughly the same number of the best Japanese players played in MLB this year, and the situation looks to be similar next season. As a result, the level of competition has dipped in Japan. Fan interest has decreased, too.

It's natural for athletes to seek the biggest stage and the toughest competition, so moving from NPB to MLB should not be discouraged.

Bobby Valentine's main point was that Pro Yakyu (which is what most folks call NPB) needs to

Honored to be mentioned

What a great feeling to contribute to the source of inspiration.

On DL, Uehara responds to fans on website

Orioles pitcher Koji Uehara has landed on the DL for the second time this season.

Over at his website, where he regularly responds to fans, Uehara has been receiving many words of concern and encouragement.

Matsui jovial after Halo and Hisanori wins

From this Hochi Shimbun report, Hideki Matsui was in good spirits following the Angels’ walk-off over the Blue Jays on Wednesday, a win he had two hits in.

One of them was a two-run blast in the 6th, his 500th home run — for those willing to count his MLB postseason clouts and NPB round-trippers (including those in All-Star and playoff games in Japan).

“What kind of combination of stats is that?” Matsui chuckled, shrugging off what is nonetheless a remarkable achievement.